Last year it was on me. With the excitement from the Olympics, I had them burned out by November. This season, they've all been trying very hard and listening very well. Our only mistake this season would be for me to work them too hard.

But I have fun with the fright, work with it. You have to - that's your timing, that beat of excitement. And when I go on stage, it's just like taking a step into heaven. Poof, you know? Poof - and there I am.

It was a great effort in his first Big 12 Championships. We did some things well but this is another step toward the NCAA Championships. Tomorrow is big day with more time in the pool, we need to stay focused and continue to improve every day of the meet.

The hardest skill to acquire in this sport is the one where you compete all out, give it all you have, and you are still getting beat no matter what you do. When you have the killer instinct to fight through that, it is very special. All great swimmers have that skill.

Swimming and track are similar because you don't have to win along the way to win it all. I use meets like this one to know how much rest to give the guys, and hopefully we will wait until the end of the year to peak.

All coaches have theories on where their teams are supposed to be, and we were as good as I could have hoped against Auburn. I want them to stay aggressive and keep competing.